CHAPTER TWO BASIC SKILLS REVIEW COMMON CHORDS

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1 6 PROGRESSION 1. I - IV - V7 2. I - vi - IV - V7 3. I - ii - V7 4. I - iii - IV - V7 CHAPTER TWO BASIC SKILLS REVIEW COMMON CHORDS The chart below contains the seven pitches of five major scales. Upper case numerals and letters indicate that the chord built on that pitch will be a major chord. Lower case numerals and letters indicate a minor chord. (The vii chord is diminished and will not be played in this review.) KEY I ii iii IV V7 vi vii D G A E C D G A E C Em Am Bm F m Dm F m Bm C m G m Em PLAY THE FOLLOWING PROGRESSIONS IN EACH KEY. Play each chord 4 times. Examples are given for the key of D. G C D A F A7 D7 E7 B7 G7 EXAMPLE Bm Em F m C m D - G - A7 Am D - Bm - G - A7 D - Em - A7 D - F m - G - A7 c f g d b 5. I - vi - ii - IV - V7 D - Bm - Em - G - A7 REVIEW THE 7 and MAJOR 7 FORMS. A - AM7 - A7 - D - DM7 - D7 - G - GM7 - G7 - C - CM7 - C7 - F - FM7

2 15 MELODIES IN FIRST POSITION The melodies which follow are designed to enhance your skill in reading and playing notation in the first position. Follow the directions below. 1-A 1-B 1. Keep perfect hand and body positions. 2. Use first position fingering unless otherwise noted. Arabic numbers (1, 2, 3, 4) indicate left hand fingers. 3. SPEED IS NOT IMPORTANT; ACCURACY IS ESSENTIAL. NOTES ON STRINGS 6 AND 5 STRING: 6 5 FINGER: To begin, play each exercise using only the right thumb or a pick. Other fingerings may be used later. 1-C

22 RIGHT HAND FINGER ALTERNATION When playing scales and stepwise melodies, most classical guitarists alternate the right hand fingers to divide the work.

Begin with rest strokes. In a rest stroke, the finger snaps quickly through the string and rests against the string below. Follow the steps carefully. 1) Prepare i on the B string.

3 22 RIGHT HAND FINGER ALTERNATION When playing scales and stepwise melodies, most classical guitarists alternate the right hand fingers to divide the work. This technique will eventually allow you to play more quickly and accurately. Alternation usually occurs between i and m, or a and m. Practice this technique on the open B string. Begin with rest strokes. In a rest stroke, the finger snaps quickly through the string and rests against the string below. Follow the steps carefully. 1) Prepare i on the B string. 2) As i plays, m fires out to prepare on the B string (pictures 10, 11 and musical example 3-D below). 3) The fingers should switch position at the same instant. 4) Prepare all strokes until the technique is learned. 5) As alternation improves, practice unprepared. 6) In unprepared strokes, the finger exchange still occurs. The finger makes contact only when playing the string, resulting in a legato sound. Picture 10 Picture 11 3-D q = 120 Track 6 (prepared rest) i m i m (prepared) i m i m (unprepared) Practice the drill above on all strings, using rest strokes. When fluent with rest strokes, practice using free strokes. In a free stroke, the finger snaps through the string and moves toward the palm of the hand, ending freely above the string. Practice the drill below on all strings, using free strokes. 3-E q = 120 Track 7 (prepared free) i m i m (prepared) i m i m (unprepared)

28 RIGHT HAND FINGERS Picture 12 p plays, ima shoot out CHAPTER FIVE RIGHT HAND DEVELOPMENT Fingers are controlled by two sets of muscles.

When a finger stroke is executed correctly, it feels as if you are scratching the string with your finger. Your fingers move from the knuckle nearest the wrist.

RIGHT HAND THUMB The right thumb moves from where it is attached to the wrist. When it finishes playing, it rests against the i finger. Playing open bass strings, practice moving your thumb correctly.

4 28 RIGHT HAND FINGERS Picture 12 p plays, ima shoot out CHAPTER FIVE RIGHT HAND DEVELOPMENT Fingers are controlled by two sets of muscles. One set pulls the fingers toward the palm in a grasping motion. The other pulls the fingers away from the palm. When a finger stroke is executed correctly, it feels as if you are scratching the string with your finger. Your fingers move from the knuckle nearest the wrist. The two joints nearest the fingertip remain firm. In the execution of both free and rest strokes, the finger is allowed to follow through toward the palm of the hand. RIGHT HAND THUMB The right thumb moves from where it is attached to the wrist. When it finishes playing, it rests against the i finger. Playing open bass strings, practice moving your thumb correctly. Then, play JUST THE LOWEST NOTE of each chord in Study 1. After you have perfected the thumb movement, play the whole study. Study 1 prepared unprepared Use pima for each chord. Track 12 Learn how to alternate the thumb with ima fingers played together. With your hand AWAY from the guitar, curve the ima fingers inward so that the tips touch your palm. Extend p away from the fingers. Now do some exaggerated "air playing". When p plays, it shoots ima out to playing position. When ima play they shoot p back. Model after pictures 12 and 13. When you apply this to the guitar, the motions are smaller and the thumb touches the i finger. Play Studies 2 and 3, which use the same chords as Study 1. Picture 13 ima play, p shoots back

5 31 4-C Use p-m-i throughout. 4-D Track 15 As an application of your fretboard knowledge, write in the necessary left hand fingerings for each measure.

6 45 SEVENTH POSITION, USING PATTERN I Learn this position in the same way you learned previous positions. Scale pattern I is the one you learned in first-year guitar. The keys of D major and B minor may be played in 7th position SCALE PATTERN I Finger:S6AMPLE THIS SCALE REQUIRES AN EXTENSION OF FINGER 4 ON STRING 4. OBSERVE THIS FINGERING CAREFULLY TO KEEP THE LEFT HAND IN THE BEST PLAYING POSITION. Learn the notes on strings 6 and 5. Play all exercises in order, using seventh position A VIIpos

52 BLUES The blues is an important musical style. Rock, jazz and pop styles have their musical roots in the blues. Review and play the basic 12-bar blues format below, using barre chords.

7 52 BLUES The blues is an important musical style. Rock, jazz and pop styles have their musical roots in the blues. Review and play the basic 12-bar blues format below, using barre chords. BLUES VOICINGS The blues that you just played with barres can also be played using the chords below. 5 X 1 2 Note that these shapes use only three strings. When you play these voicings, use your left hand to damp the strings that are not fretted. CHAPTER SEVEN MULTI-STYLE STUDIES Key of A: A7 D7 A7 E7 D7 A7 E7 I7 IV7 I7 V7 IV7 I7 (V7) Guitarists learn many voicings for the same chord. For instance, you have already learned the following voicings for the D7 chord: 1) the common chord voicing in first position, using open strings; 2) the barre chord voicing using a movable E shape and 3) the barre chord voicing using the movable A shape. A7 D7 E7 4 X X Voicing: the unique arrangement of chord tones on the fretboard X 2 X X X X X Picture 14 Picture 14 illustrates this damping technique with the D7 voicing. For the A7 voicing, the first finger will play on the 6th string, and will damp the other strings. 10-A Track 30 Play the 12-bar pattern above, using these new voicings. To apply them to an ensemble, play the chords to Walkin' the Dog Blues, page 96. Play "Freddie Green" style; rhythmic, crisp quarter note strums should be played throughout the song.

54 String bending techniques are used extensively in rock, country, blues, and bluegrass styles of lead guitar playing.

However, string bending is an important aspect of all styles of guitar playing. It allows a player to sound any pitch between the frets.

contact with the fret. This contact allows the string to continue to ring while the pitch is raised and/or lowered.

is least often employed. Multiple fingers are often used to push a string up to the target pitch.

The lh thumb is often wrapped over the neck to provide additional leverage and Picture 15 Picture 16 power needed to push the string(s).

Bending in-tune requires the synthesis of physical and listening skills.

8 54 String bending techniques are used extensively in rock, country, blues, and bluegrass styles of lead guitar playing. They are used more sparingly in jazz and classical styles, possibly due to the higher gauge strings on these instruments. However, string bending is an important aspect of all styles of guitar playing. It allows a player to sound any pitch between the frets. String bending is accomplished by pushing the string up or down (toward the ceiling or toward the floor) the fretboard, while still maintaining contact with the fret. This contact allows the string to continue to ring while the pitch is raised and/or lowered. String bending technique: Half-step bend (classical guitar example) common practices Any finger can be used to execute a bend; however, finger 4 is least often employed. Multiple fingers are often used to push a string up to the target pitch. Adjacent strings are often pushed along with the bent string, yet often do not sound. The lh thumb is often wrapped over the neck to provide additional leverage and Picture 15 Picture 16 power needed to push the string(s). TARGET PITCH BENDING Bending the string to a target pitch often sounds best. Bending in-tune requires the synthesis of physical and listening skills. A good place to begin target pitch bending is with the familiar sound of the notes of the major scale. In each case below, you will hear the target note fretted normally just before a bend. Push the bent note up to this target pitch. 10-F Vpos Track 32 Half step bend STRING BENDING Whole-step bend (electric guitar example) Picture 17 Picture 18 (Examples 10-F through 10-K are all contained on this track.) target pitch 10-G Full or whole-step bend - use fingers 1, 2, and 3 to push. target pitch

9 59 Play this excerpt from 1942 Swing. Learn both the chords and the lead. 10-O Track 34 (demo: 1942 Swing; slow tempo, two guitars) JAZZ VOICINGS: ii7, V7, I7 in the key of F Play these voicings from the 6th and 5th strings. The measure below shows the ii7, V7 and I7 chords as taken from the F major scale. At right you see the jazz voicings in both notation and chord frames. Roots are on strings 6 and 5. Play the progression. Drill Gm7 - C7 - FM7 until smooth. Then use them to learn this excerpt from 1942 Swing. 10-P x x x x x x R R 3 7 x x x R 7 3 Key of F: ii7 V7 I7 Gm7 C7 FM7 Gm7 C7 FM You have learned both the lead and rhythm parts for the ensemble 1942 Swing, page 100. As directed, divide your group into sections to play the entire score. This is a piece you may perform in concert.

10 63 POP/ROCK CHORD PROGRESSIONS FOR MASTERY 1. G - Cadd9 - Em7 - (Dsus4 D) - G5 8. G5 - G/B - Cadd9 - Dsus4 - G5 2. C/G - C/E- F - Fm - C/G 9. A - D/A - E/A - D/A - A 3. A - A/C - D - (Esus4 E) - A 10. C - G/B - Am - Fsus2 - C/G 4. D - Dsus4 - Dsus2 - Dsus4 - D 11. E - Esus4 - B7sus4 - B7 - E 5. Em7 - G5 - Dsus4 - A7sus4 - Em7 12. C - G/B - Am - Am/G - F - C/E - D - D/F - G 6. G5 - Gsus4 - G5 - Gsus2 - G Am - Am/G - D/F - F - Am 14. Em7 - D/F - G5 - Cadd9 - G/B - A7sus4 - G 15. E - Esus2 - Esus4 - E A - Asus2 - Asus4 - A D - Dsus2 - Dsus4 - D G - Gsus2 - Gsus4 - G C - Csus2 - Csus4 - C Below are two suggested drills for progression 1 above. Apply the same rhythmic patterns to all fifteen progressions. The goal: play progressions 1-15 in sequence, smoothly and comfortably, without looking at the master chord chart. Moderate drill q = 110 F - Fsus2 - Fsus4 - F Bm - Bm/A - E/G - G - F sus4 - F - Bm Mastery drill q = 60-80

11 76 TRIADS ON THE FRETBOARD Your analysis on the previous page produced the standard formula for major and minor triads. The application of those formulas below illustrates the difference in the notation of the E and Em chords. Notice that the root and fifth are the same in both triads. Why? Because: So your next conclusion would be that: THE POSITION OF THE THIRD CONTROLS THE QUALITY OF THE CHORD. This is easily visible in the common chord fingerings for E and Em. Take the time now to carefully read and UNDERSTAND the examples below. This is the E minor triad. Beside it is the Em chord frame with pitch labels below the strings. The third is on string 3. To transform this to a major triad, change the m3 to M3 and the M3 to m3. This is done by RAISING the third of the triad. M3 (4 half-steps) + m3 (3 half-steps) = 7 half-steps m3 (3 half-steps) + M3 (4 half-steps) = 7 half-steps Em m3 + M3 = minor triad R 5 R 3 5 R M3 + m3 = major triad E R 5 R 3 5 R COMPARE THE CHORD FRAMES. You will see that identification of the chord tones in each one gives you a PICTURE of the difference between major and minor triads. Play the two chords, one after another, and you will hear the difference. CHANGE A MAJOR TRIAD TO A MINOR TRIAD. This is the F major triad. x x To transform this to a minor triad, change the M3 to m3 and the m3 to M3. Do this by LOWERING the third of the triad. M3 + m3 = major triad m3 + M3 = minor triad x x R 3 5 R X X R 3 5 R Play the chords, one after another. Listen carefully to the difference between the major and minor triad qualities. Eventually, you will be able to identify the quality of a chord simply by hearing it.

12 86 Concerto in G Major Track 36 Ensemble * For a more historically informed performance, these piano sections may be performed by fewer players than the forte sections.

13 88 Track 37 Reggae Reggae A B

14 100 Track Swing * Play chords "Freddie Green" style ( ).

15 116 WORKSHEET 4 NAME WRITE MAJOR SCALES FROM THE KEYNOTES PROVIDED. FOLLOW THESE STEPS. 1. Write seven consecutive notes following the keynote. USE WHOLE NOTES. 2. Insert the formula. 3. Prove the formula, adding sharps or flats where needed. w w w w bw bw

INTRODUCTION TO CHORDS

INTRODUCTION TO CHORDS Indicates Files in Piano Marvel Repertoire Introduction to Chords Print out this file and use it at your keyboard to study/ Prepared by Christine Brown Please give me your feedback